Was Obama's Royal Wedding Invitations Lost in the Mail? No, He Was Snubbed

Looks like the English are still upset at Mr. Hope-and-Change for how he has treated our closest allies over the past two years. The guest list was released for the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and guess guess who wasn’t on it:

Oh, the humiliation. Once not so long ago one of the world's top celebrities in his own right, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle did not make the cut for invitations to the royal wedding in London next spring.

On April 29 in Westminster Abbey with all the grace and pageantry sure to capture international imaginations, commoner Kate Middleton will marry Prince William, son of Princess Diana. And don't forget the horsedrawn carriage perhaps.

But the current residents of the White House will not be there, according to the Daily Mail.

The official excuse provided to the British paper by royal sources is that the royal couple wants to share their special nuptial moment with ordinary citizens. Anyway, it is not an official state event, they said. And, you know, Westminster only seats 2,000.

Nice try.

So then how to explain the invites to French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni?

And how to explain the invitations to England-loving President and Mrs. Reagan for the wedding of Diana and Prince Charles back in 1981? And the subsequent invitations to the American first family for the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson five years later?

The English snubbed Obama? Don’t they like his policy of “smart diplomacy”? Hasn’t he raised our standing in the world, brought our allies closer, and turned enemies in to allies by just being the awesome one that he is? What possible reason could they have to be upset at the Chosen One? It’s not like he’s ever been called “the most unpopular man in Britain”. Right?... Oh, yeah! What has Obama done to deserve such a dubious honor?:

On that grand occasion in Buckingham Palace, President Obama on behalf of the people of the United States presented the British sovereign with the gift of an iPod. She gave him a photograph framed in silver.

That came a few months after Britain's visiting Prime Minister Gordon Brown was denied the traditional Oval Office photo op with the American president. And Obama gave Brown a couple of toy helicopters of Marine One and classic American movie DVD's, reportedly in a format incompatible with British players. Thanks for stopping by.

He, also, returned a bust of Winston Churchill, which was a gift from the British to the White House years ago.

Let’s not, also, forget, when Obama sent Gitmo detainees being sent to the British island of Bermuda, without even consulting with the British government. Obama was in such a hurry to try and fulfill his promise to close Gitmo that he didn’t even have the common courtesy to ask the prime minister permission before sending terrorists to one of his territories. Why would they be upset about that?

This is just another example of the fact his “smart diplomacy” skills has resulted in lowering our standing in the world with our allies and enemies not raising it, like he campaigned to do, when he was running for the presidency.

No matter how they try to spin this, this is a huge snub on Obama and, by-extension, America. He’s going to have to mend some fences across the pond in England and the rest of Europe, if he wants to get anything done on the foreign policy front.

Assange Bailed Out of Jail By Michael Moore, Moore Calls Assange "Patriot"

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was bailed out by uber-liberal Michael Moore:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made bail today with the financial help of a new ally—documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who is siding with the joyful crowds of self-proclaimed advocates of free speech that were lined up outside the London courthouse.

Moore posted $20,000 to help Assange after his bail was set at $315,000, and strict conditions require Assange to surrender his passport, abide by a curfew, and wear an electronic tag. The ordeal isn’t over yet—Swedish prosecutors filed an appeal and Assange will remain in jail until it's heard by London's high court within 48 hours, according to the Guardian.

In a statement release by Moore, he implies that Julian Assange is a patriot for his activities related to the Wikileaks website:

"That is no crime. That is an act of patriotism," Moore said in the statement.

Although Moore’s defense centered on WikiLeaks, Assange isn’t being held on crimes related to his website. Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden for allegations of rape, sexual molestation, and unlawful coercion. His lawyers said they will contest Sweden’s attempt to extradite him from London for fear he could be turned over to the United States.

This charge is just a place-holder as Attorney General Holder and Secretary of State Clinton are looking to charge Assange with espionage for the activities revolving around Wikileaks.

According to The Guardian, "Assange's bail conditions include surrendering his passport, a curfew and an electronic tag", and "Assange's next court appearance will be on 11 January 2011." Arresting him for this iffy crime was done so they'll know where he is, if they proceed to charge him here in the US.

TEA Party Gaining Real Poliltical Steam......in England

Is there a TEA Party movement gaining steam across the pond in Jolly ‘Ole England?

The Tea Party movement's recent electoral gains have gotten international attention, including in the mother country whose taxes inspired the first Tea Party -- the United Kingdom.
A new rebellion against big government and high taxes is resonating in Ye Olde England.

"Ideas around limited government, absolutely, there's lots of people in Britain who share those as well." says Matthew Sinclair of the Taxpayers' Alliance. The group -- formed in 2004, naturally calling for lower taxes -- is one of the largest in Britain with a Tea Party slant. It boasts some 60,000 supporters.

The group organized workshops this past fall with FreedomWorks and other American Tea Party support groups. "We're always trying to learn how to campaign better. We're always trying to learn if there are policy initiatives in the states which have succeeded," Sinclair explains.

Like the Tea Party in the U.S., there are many groups here vying for the label. From one strictly aimed at domestic politics, to another upset about tax money going to the European Union, and yet another nationalistic group upset about immigration.

Europe has been starting to move to the right, for a while now. Their liberal deficit spending policies have brought them to near-economic collapse, and they’ve been forced to come to terms with it and start cutting back. Many Europeans have come to realize the error of their ways, and if a TEA partyesque movement takes real roots in England, it could spread throughout the rest of Europe, given enough time.

UK: Lawmaker Presents Cap-N-Trade Plan Where Individuals Are Issued Carbon Coupons

In a plan that is similar to the Democrats' plan for the US, the British are looking to give out what I call "carbon coupons" for individuals to use whenever they make a mark on their carbon footprint that they must pay extra for, if they go over their allotted amount:

Lord Smith of Finsbury presented a plan earlier in the week in which “individual carbon allowances” would be doled out to Brits in an effort to reduce their “carbon footprints.” If passed by their government, the plan would, “involve people being issued with a unique number which they would hand over when purchasing products that contribute to their carbon footprint, such as fuel, airline tickets and electricity. Like with a bank account, a statement would be sent out each month to help people keep track of what they are using.” If they hit zero, then they have to buy more credits. If they don’t use up all their credits, then they can sell them to others.

The British plan is pretty much the way that cap and trade would work in the US if it were passed by Congress. Not only companies, but individuals would be rationed a “cap” on things such as gas for their vehicles, heating and cooling their homes and businesses, and electricity. And they would be able to “trade” whatever they don’t use. Even if this particular tax isn’t directly applied to individuals at first, it will be passed on indirectly, because businesses will pass on that extra cost to customers. So once individuals start getting hit directly, they will, in effect, be getting hit twice.

Great! More taxes! That is just what this economy needs to rebound. The government needs to suck their citizen's hard-earned money away not just once but twice. They can't just take one bite from the apple. They need two. People won't miss their money. Right? It's such a minute amount that they won't even notice:

Democrats are pushing for a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. However, back in March, The Wall Street Journal reported that the congressional budget office, “estimates that the price hikes from a 15% cut in emissions would cost the average household in the bottom-income quintile about 3.3% of its after-tax income every year. That's about $680, not including the costs of reduced employment and output. The three middle quintiles would see their paychecks cut between $880 and $1,500, or 2.9% to 2.7% of income. The rich would pay 1.7.” With unemployment already being over 10 percent (as of this writing) Republicans have expressed a deep concern over the impact of a bill like this on the present economy if it were to pass.

Wow, I could but a lot of Yohoo with $680. Second thought, this may not be the best idea Congress ever had.

More "Smart" Diplomacy: Brits "Pissed" Over Obama's Transer of Gitmo Detainees to Bermuda

Obama does it again. At this pace, England will be our bitter enemies by the end of his term. In his haste to get the prisoners out of Gitmo by early next year, he made an arrangement with one governing body of the island without consulting with the other government in charge:

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The U.S. may be happy to see four more detainees leave the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Those Uighurs -- Chinese Muslims -- were sent to Bermuda today, but close ally Great Britain is seething because they say they were not adequately consulted about the move.

"They're pissed," admitted a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The UK provides for Bermuda's defense and foreign affairs, but the State Department today said it dealt directly with the government of Bermuda, who then informed the British Governor General on the island.

How can they move these dangerous individuals into a country without notifying the local military contingent. That would be like moving a convicted child molester into a neighborhood without notifying the local police or sheriff's office.

What in the world was the Obama Administration thinking? We wouldn't like it if France made a deal with Puerto Rican governor Luis Fortuño to send some of their serial killers to live in the American territory without contacting Washington. Obama, Gibbs, Clinton, and basically everyone else in the administration would be appalled at their audacity and arrogance of the French because we were not informed of the move.

British Official Chastises British PM Brown's Economic Agenda

'Viral Video' Eviscerating PM Gordon Brown Economic Policies Largely Ignored by MSM
By P.J. Gladnick
March 26, 2009 - 08:24 ET

Most of you have probably seen or heard the "viral video" of the British MEP, Daniel Hannan, eviscerating the socialist economic polices of Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the European Parliament. If you did, you probably became aware of the video on either the Web, talk radio shows such as Rush Limbaugh, or on a very few cable TV programs. The reason is that the MSM mostly ignored this scintillating attack upon the disastrous economic effects of socialism as represented by Brown which could well be extended to our own president, Barack Obama.

Your humble correspondent did a Google News search on "Daniel Hannan" this morning and was astonished by the dearth of coverage. In fact, I thought that perhaps Google News might have simply missed some news sources by error so I checked individual news sites of several of the major MSM sources. The result: New York Times...no coverage. Washington Post...zip. Boston Globe...zilch. Miami Herald...nope. Chicago Tribune...nyet. And the Los Angeles Times only had a small blurb linking to a National Review Online story about the video. And if you think CNN, being a cable news outlet, would have had the video or at least a mention of it on its site, you would be wrong. Daniel Hannan himself made a blog post in the UK Telegraph about how his video went viral on the Web despite being ignored by much of the MSM:

"The internet has changed politics - changed it utterly and forever. Twenty-four hours ago, I made a three-minute speech in the European Parliament, aimed at Gordon Brown. I tipped off the BBC and some of the newspaper correspondents but, unsurprisingly, they ignored me: I am, after all, simply a backbench MEP.

"When I woke up this morning, my phone was clogged with texts, my email inbox with messages. Overnight, the YouTube clip of my remarks had attracted over 36,000 hits. By today, it was the most watched video in Britain."

And on this side of the pond as well, Daniel.

"How did it happen, in the absence of any media coverage? The answer is that political reporters no longer get to decide what's news. The days when a minister gave briefings to a dozen lobby correspondents, and thereby dictated the next day's headlines, are over. Now, a thousand bloggers decide for themselves what is interesting. If enough of them are tickled then, bingo, you're news... And jumbo thanks to all the American bloggers: you chaps are way ahead of us in this regard."

Blush! And a jumbo you're welcome for your incredible speech on behalf of the bloggers here in the colonies.

"Breaking the press monopoly is one thing. But the internet has also broken the political monopoly. Ten or even five years ago, when the Minister for Widgets put out a press release, the mere fact of his position guaranteed a measure of coverage. Nowadays, a politician must compel attention by virtue of what he is saying, not his position.

"It's all a bit unsettling for professional journalists and politicians. But it's good news for libertarians of every stripe. Lefties have always relied on control, as much of information as of physical resources. Such control is no longer technically feasible."

Well stated!  However, the left will still try to desperately regain its control of information as we have seen in attempts to resurrect the "Fairness Doctrine" whether by that name or in another form. So what was the reaction to Hannan's article about how the MSM has lost its monopoly? Fortunately, the Web now allows us to read the reaction in the comments posted by readers of Hannan's blog:

"At 80,000 hits, it is the most watched video on youtube, not only in britain, but everywhere in the world."

That was yesterday. Today that YouTube video has over 680,000 hits and is still rapidly growing.

"I'm proud to say that I played my part in spreading this video to firstly my friends and a student forum of 270,000.

"Mr. Hannan! I first heard the audio from this speech on the Rush Limbaugh Show here in the States... I couldn't help but applaud!!(While driving I might add ;) Rush commands an audience of 20 Million people a week and 5 million at any given time during his 3 hour show. Your speech has gone beyond viral, my friend... I have no doubt this speech will find its way into America's Conservative Movement, and this should be the clarion call for Republicans here start sounding off like they have a pair! President Teleprompter needs a dressing down just like this!"

Hannan's blog had over 270 such comments posted to it but what is really outstanding is that his YouTube video currently has over 4700 comments. Meanwhile the MSM, including many of the dying newspapers that are soon to fold, continues to snore.

—P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.

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http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2009/03/26/viral-video-eviscerating-pm-gordon-brown-economic-policies-largely-ign
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My Thoughts

It does seem to fit perfectly with the situation that is going on here. It might have as well been Paul Ryan or Michelle Bachmann going off on Obama.

Socialist-in-Chief Extols Greatness of UK/Canada's Healthcare Systems

Video: Our “legacy” is all that separates us from Euro-Canada health care
posted at 2:47 pm on March 26, 2009
by Ed Morrissey

If you want a peek at the direction Barack Obama will take health care, or at least where he would like to take it, check out this moment from an otherwise dull, dreary “virtual town hall”.  Obama extols the virtues of single-payer systems in Europe and Canada while lamenting the “legacy” that keeps America from its nationalized destiny.

Obama’s right about the “historical accident” of employer based care, from which Obama obviously drew the wrong lesson.  Government intervention in markets — in this case, the labor market — produces strange and sometimes problematic results.  This was the very issue that John McCain wanted to address in his plans to make employer-financed health insurance taxable income while providing a balancing refundable that would have disconnected insurance from employment and created a new market for individual — and portable — plans.  Obama and the Democrats misrepresented McCain’s plans, and then turned around this month and suggested they might co-opt the McCain approach now.

As for his description of Canada and “England” as places where one just walks in and gets treatment, perhaps Obama should talk to more Canadians and “English”.  Most have to wait months for tests and treatments.  The British have a chronic lack of dentists and transplant surgeons, just to name two specialties, because of the lack of compensation for specializations.  Both have a healthy “health tourism” outflow of patients to countries that allow for free-market health care.  Most people in the systems that Obama hails would laugh outright at the notion that they get health care on demand.

Maybe Obama should do more research on Canada and “England”.

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http://hotair.com/archives/2009/03/26/video-our-legacy-is-all-that-separates-us-from-euro-canada-health-care/
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My Thoughts

At last, it's refreshing for "The One" to tell us what he really wants for this country. It's like when he was actually honest with Joe the Plumber. He wants us to become a socialist country no matter how hard he tries to convince the New York Times and the American people otherwise.

To add to what Ed said, the reason why there is a lack of doctors is because they migrate to the US where they get paid much more. This is especially true for the more experienced and talented doctors. So, Canada and England are hemorraging the best doctors they have to the US because of their "free" healthcare system.

Also, their healthcare isn't really free. Everyone pays out the wazoo through heavy taxes to wait forever for adequate healthcare.

English Bank Governor Tells Prime Minister: Stop Spending

Mervyn King warns Gordon Brown to stop spending

The Governor of the Bank of England laid bare tensions between Gordon Brown and the Treasury yesterday by warning that Britain could not afford a second economic stimulus in the Budget.

Mervyn King threw caution to the wind as he sided with Alistair Darling and the CBI against Downing Street in raising strong doubts over any prospect of another round of “significant fiscal expansion” next month.

Mr King spoke as the Prime Minister, beginning an international tour to co-ordinate measures for next week’s G20 gathering in London, called on leaders to do “whatever it takes to create growth and the jobs we need”.

President Obama, Mr Brown’s main stimulus ally, writes in the same vein in The Times today, saying that America is ready to lead the world out of recession, while calling for swift and robust action to stimulate growth “until growth is restored”.

No 10 and the Treasury deny any split but ministers admit that Mr Brown is keener than his Chancellor to go for further expansionist Budget measures on April 22.

Mr Darling said two weeks ago that a fiscal stimulus “has now been widely agreed but now needs to be implemented”, hinting that he believes a second boost is unnecessary and unwise. There have been no similar signals from No 10.

Bank governors do not normally talk about Budgets in advance, just as ministers do not comment in advance about Bank decisions on interest rates. The conclusion drawn from the unusual intervention of Mr King, who met the Queen yesterday in her first audience with a Bank governor, was that he was backing the Treasury in resisting pressure for a further stimulus. It seems certain that his already strained relations with No 10 will hit a new low.

Mr Brown told the European Parliament in Strasbourg: “I believe that we are seeing the biggest cut in interest rates the world has ever seen and seeing implemented the biggest fiscal stimulus the world has ever agreed.”

However, Mr King, appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, pointed to the size of the financial deficit and said: “It would be sensible to be cautious about going further in using discretionary measures to expand the size of those deficits.”

He gave himself some leeway by saying that “targeted and selected” measures should not be ruled out. However, monetary policy — interest rates and quantitative easing — should bear the brunt of restoring the economy to health, he said.

George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, said that Mr Brown was now “isolated at home and abroad”. He claimed that Mr King was vindicating the Conservatives’ stance and that Mr Brown’s plans for the G20 and the Budget were “in tatters”.

No 10 and the Treasury appeared relaxed about Mr King’s remarks but some ministers close to Mr Brown were irritated at the “unhelpful” and “poorly timed” intervention.

Britain was urged by Brussels, meanwhile, to make “additional efforts” from next year — code for tax increases or spending cuts — to reduce its burgeoning budget deficit. The situation had worsened substantially since last summer, the European Commission said, as it gave Britain a new target of 2013-14 for cutting its deficit back to below 3 per cent of GDP, replacing the previous target of 2009-10. This leaves Britain with the longest planned period of “excessive deficit” in the EU, after a target of 2010 was given to Greece, 2012 to France and Spain, and 2013 for the Irish Republic.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5971296.ece
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My Thoughts

The stimulus backlash seems to be spreading outside our borders. Maybe we can start "tea parties" overseas. After all, England is more into tea than America is.